


5 times Nathan Young dies

by froglawyer



Category: Misfits (TV 2009)
Genre: Background Alisha Daniels/Curtis Donovan - Freeform, Canon Divergence, Drug Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, Nathan dies a lot, Recreational Drug Use, Simon never knows what to feel, Swearing, self destructive tendencies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25894045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froglawyer/pseuds/froglawyer
Summary: and 1 time Simon saves him(But everyone else almost dies anyway)
Relationships: Simon Bellamy/Nathan Young
Comments: 22
Kudos: 104





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time doing a fic formatted like this, in the 5 vs 1 format. I hope you guys like it. WIP. 6 chapters total, hopefully. Uni is starting soon so I won't be able to update as regularly as I'd like. Please leave a comment or give kudos. Thank you for reading :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEADCANON AWARENESS: In this fic, there is no Seth, selling powers, or future Simon. Alisha and Curtis are still together, and Nathan and Kelly are already over with. The ending and several powers are made up, just for fun and writing practice.
> 
> Thank you.

1

Simon doesn’t know how to feel whenever Nathan dies, and also doesn’t know what to think about how bizarre that concept is. Nathan brushes it off every time, either acting as if it never happened, or joking about it so much that it becomes normalized.

He remembers the terror, the shock of not being able to save Nathan the first time. The grief. The guilt, which he occasionally still feels. Simon sometimes thinks about that moment of Nathan falling off of the roof, his fingers slipping through Simon’s. He wonders if Nathan felt pain as he hit the fence, or if he died near instantly. Wonders what it was like inside the coffin. It’s hard to get his head around, to be quite honest.

The problem is that Nathan might be the most arrogant person alive, or at least that Simon had ever met. Before he was immortal, Simon imagines, Nathan probably still acted like he was invincible. However, in their current situation, Simon is grateful that Nathan has the power that he does.

It happens fast, too fast for Simon to even react.

Nathan’s doing his regular mouthing off as the rest of the ASBOs actually do their work. They’re scrubbing graffiti off of some store in a shitty neighborhood when Nathan turns his attitude to passers by rather than his fellow community service members.

“Y’know, sometimes I wonder if I’m just as appealing, sexually, I mean, to the men of this country as I am to the women. I mean, I’m fit! I don’t discriminate either, not in this day and age,” Nathan rambles. Simon suppresses a laugh, Nathan's shock value humor amazed him. The complete and utter lack of shame.

“You gay or something?” Curtis snaps over his shoulder.

“No! But I know a catch when I see one, and I look in a mirror everyday,” Nathan replies, his eyes skirting around the pedestrians. “Oi, you!”

“The fuck you want?” Comes the reply, smothered in a thick, Northern accent. Simon turns his head to look at the approaching bloke. He’s tall and dressed like a nonce, hat backwards. He reminds Simon of the boy who had been with them their first day of community service, Gary.

“I have a question for you, a pointed one-“ Nathan starts.

“Don’t, Nathan,” Kelly scoffs, but Simon can hear the worry in her voice.

“No, whatcha gotta say, mate?” The man asks, leering, his face dark.

Nathan leaps to his feet, seemingly delighted to have a new person to mess with. Simon’s noticed that the more easily provoked, the more fun they are to Nathan.

“Now tell me, and don’t hold back on your response,” Nathan says, his face mockingly serious. “Would you shag me?”

Simon stiffens, and he sees the rest of the ASBOs stiffen as well.

“You a fuckin’ fairy?” The man grits out, getting in Nathan’s face, and Simon wonders if Nathan sees the man reaching for his belt. Simon’s about to say something, but of course Nathan beats him to it.

“No,” Nathan pulls a confused face. “I thought the implication was that you are.”

Simon hears the gunshot before he realizes what’s happened, and the man’s running away, as well as all of the other pedestrians. He stands in shock as Alisha screams, Curtis drops to the ground, and Kelly whips around to Nathan.

Nathan, who has collapsed on the ground, holding at his stomach.

“You fockin’ idiot!” Kelly’s the first to break, running over to him. The street clears out around them, and the man is long gone.

“I think,” Nathan heaves, “that I might’ve touched a nerve.”

“You fockin’ think?” Kelly rages, sounding panicked. Simon rushes over as well. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Curtis getting back to his feet to comfort Alisha.

“Why’re you so worried?” Nathan grunts out, as if he’s not bleeding out from the stomach. “Do you love me? Say it now, before I depart.”

Simon’s filled to the brim with adrenaline, hands shaking as he presses against Nathan’s wound. He hears police sirens in the distance.

Simon looks up at Kelly. “We’ve got to move him, he shouldn’t die in the ambulance. They’ll be suspicious if he dies again.”

Kelly nods after a moment, still in shock. Simon understands the feeling. They get to their feet, pulling Nathan up with his arms wrapped around each of their shoulders, Nathan heavy as he slowly loses consciousness.

“You’ve got to tell them that the person who got shot ran away, and that we all scattered when we heard the gunshot as well,” Simon says to Curtis as they shuffle past, trying not to let any blood drip from Nathan now that he’s standing. He doesn’t want the cops to follow them from it. Simon has a slight shock as Curtis just gives a short nod, not arguing with him. He feels odd, having people actually listen to him. 

With that, he and Kelly drag Nathan through a side street and keep going, pavement empty after the gunshot. They go until the sirens sound far enough away to feel comfortable they won’t be found, and Nathan is pretty much gone at that point.

Kelly and Simon carefully lean him against the wall of the new alley they had found. Nathan is nearly gray from loss of blood, eyes open but crossed. Blood dribbles from his mouth. They crouch next to him.

“Nathan?” Kelly asks quietly, but he can’t seem to hear her. Simon feels like he’s intruding as she begins to cry.

Nathan’s eyes flutter close and Simon checks his pulse, sitting back on his heels as he finds nothing.

“I don’t know why I’m even cryin’,” Kelly sniffs, mascara running. “I know the pricks gonna hop back up in a minute, but just hearing his mind go blank like that.”

Simon swallows, never having considered that she can tell he's died in that way. He thinks about putting a hand on her shoulder, but his fingers are still covered in Nathan’s blood. The thought makes him sick. 

“He’s an idiot,” Simon reasons, shooting her a small smile.

“Yeah,” she replies, returning the smile, but only slightly. Kelly leans back against the wall parallel to Nathan, and Simon follows suit.

Simon stares at Nathan’s lifeless body, wondering if he always looks so small. He may have around 10 centimeters on Simon in height, but Nathan might as well be a skyscraper with his impenetrable persona. Dead, he seems so skinny and defenseless. Like if Simon flicked his ribs too hard, they'd shatter. The thought makes him sad. He wonders if he should bring round food more, or if that would just get him mocked for ruining Nathan's already fragile pride.

“D’you think he ‘as a death wish?” Kelly says after a few moments, once the tears leave her system.

“I don’t know,” Simon answers honestly.

Simon wonders if Nathan without his immortality would still go to the same lengths for kicks as he does now. Anybody with eyes and ears can tell Nathan has a severe need for attention, but Simon doubts he’d ever want to get shot for it.

They sit in silence for what could be minutes or hours, just waiting. Eventually, Kelly rises to her feet.

“I’m gonna go check on the rest of ‘em, you good ‘ere?” Kelly’s eyes plead to him. Simon realizes that she probably can’t stand to be around a dead body, especially not of a person she cared about.

Simon just nods, and keeps watch as she walks away. Nathan’s body doesn’t disturb him. It’s not necessarily a comfortable thing, but he knows that Nathan will get back up at the end of the day.

He doesn’t know how long it is until he sees the pink finally return to Nathan’s cheeks and lips. Simon fights a smile as he sees Nathan’s chest begin to rise and fall, and thanks whatever god there is that nobody walked in on him in an alley with a dead body. He would probably go to actual jail for that, even with Nathan popping back up.

“So, that fucking sucked,” are Nathan’s first words. Nathan blinks a couple of times, seemingly disorientated, before his eyes focus on Simon. Nathan points an accusing finger. “Did you stare at me while I was dead? Necrophile! Did you touch me while I was out?”

Simon just shakes his head fondly and stands, breaking his vigil. Nathan’s antics will probably start to frustrate him again tomorrow, when Nathan hasn’t just freshly died. For now, Simon just feels relief that he’s alive. Simon starts off with Nathan scrambling behind him, catching up to their friends.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Jamie appears and dies with what feels like only a couple of moments knowing the guy. Simon had never seen Nathan so genuinely happy than when he realized he had a brother. It broke his heart a little bit. Simon can’t imagine what it’s like to have no good family, and then when you finally get hope for one, it’s taken away. Simon wonders if Nathan blames himself.

“So, who’s going out on the town with me tonight, ey?” Nathan announces to the room, shimmying ceremoniously out of his jumpsuit. It’s late in the evening, community service running over their regular schedule. “I’m thinking more shots than what’s healthy and finding girls drunk enough to shag in the toilets.”

“You’re disgustin’,” Kelly replies, shaking her head. “An’ I can’t go. I’ve got stuff on.”

“Stuff on…” Nathan shakes his head in disgust. “What kind of stuff?”

“None of ya business,” Kelly says, and Simon can tell there’s more than she’s letting on. She slams her locker and stalks towards the door.

“Alright, touchy, I don’t need you anyway. You’ll just hold back my game,” Nathan calls quickly behind her, but she just flips him the bird and leaves the room. Nathan glances around at the rest of the room.

Alisha sneers at Nathan before he can even say anything and follows Kelly out. Curtis goes after her with a quick, “Sorry, mate.”

It leaves just Simon and Nathan in the locker room, and Simon tries to quicken buttoning up his shirt. He really doesn’t feel up to a night clubbing with Nathan, it couldn’t be further from what Simon considers enjoyable. But he also knows, when coerced, he might actually agree.

“Barry!” Nathan exclaims, eyeing him down like a vulture. Simon feels his shoulders tighten. “We’ve always been friends, right?”

Ignoring the warmth deep in his chest at being called someone’s friends, he stays silent.

“C’mon, ya seriously have somethin’ better to do? You can buy me a drink, I can find you a nice, creepy bird. What do you think?” Simon glances at Nathan, and he sees a quiet desperation in his face. Simon wonders what it’s like, alone in the community center all of the time.

“I, uh, suppose I could-”

“Excellent!” Nathan interrupts slinging an arm around Simon’s shoulder, rubbing his fist into Simon’s hair. Simon backs away immediately, flattening his hair back down.

“Are we going now?” Simon asks, hesitant. He still has his briefcase in hand, and he doesn’t know how he feels about leaving it in the locker room. That had done him no good in the past.

“What’s a better time than the present?” Nathan punches him on the shoulder and flings the locker room door open, and Simon has no choice but to shove his briefcase back into his locker and follow quickly.

They go to some warehouse club that almost feels like a rave, Simon’s least favorite kind of place. An ideal night out for him includes a couple of beers at a nice, clean pub. Maybe some football playing on the tellies. Not the loud EDM that’s currently putting him through sensory overload. But Nathan.... Nathan seems to be in his absolute element, finally not the loudest thing in the room. He’s looking around excitedly, looking every woman they pass up and down. Nathan asks Simon for some money to get them drinks and, without thinking, gives it to him. He feels a spike of anxiety as he watches Nathan slither away in the crowd, he wonders if the 10 quid he had just handed off would actually be used for alcohol.

Nathan returns quickly, though, two fruity cocktails in hand. He shoves one at Simon, nearly tipping it all over Simon’s button up. Simon looks at the cocktail uneasily, not his preferred drink. Also, the last time he was handed a drink by someone, it had been spiked.

“Why do you look like someone’s just kicked your puppy?” Nathan asks with a smirk. “Just drink it.”

“It’s- it’s not spiked with anything, is it?” Simon says carefully, but he stills sees Nathan’s eyes flicker with emotion as he remembers the last time. Remembers Jamie. Simon worries he’s ruined the whole night when Nathan responds.

“Of course not! Doesn’t everyone wanna shag you when you're drugged up? That’s the reverse of your thing? I can’t have that kind of competition ‘round, ‘specially when I really need to get laid tonight. The ol’ hand’s just not cutting it these days. I know it may be your only way to get it out, but the rest of us want an actual bird there.” Nathan’s making jokes about Simon’s virginity, so he assumes the night is still all well.

Simon just smirks and takes a sip, scrunching his face at the too sugary taste. He can already feel the hangover he’ll wake up with. He doesn’t know what else to say to Nathan, so he just stays silent as Nathan studies the crowd, seemingly looking for a girl to flirt with. Simon looks around for one, too, but he can’t seem to find anyone fit. He turns his attention back to Nathan.

“Do you see anyone?” Simon asks him, feeling awkward.

“Yes, I see plenty. But she, she is the one for me,” Nathan responds, punching over his own heart. Then, he points to a fit brunette girl who’s dancing, obviously incredibly wasted and questionably high. Nathan chugs his drink and shakes his head when, Simon assumes, he’s hit with brain freeze. “Now, I think that you should go for her.”

Nathan’s pointing to a different girl, black hair and pale, standing in the corner watching the crowd. She's staring them down, but when Simon makes eye contact, she looks away.

Nathan lurches to his feet and begins to swagger over to the fit girl, leaving Simon to watch. Simon doesn’t mind. He likes watching people. He always has. His mum used to take him to the park and they’d point people out together, and come up with a life story for them. The unexpected memory makes him smile, and he looks around the crowd again. Nathan’s chatting up the girl and they start to laugh, her leading Nathan across the dance floor. They disappear.

Simon chugs his drink as well and approaches the girl Nathan had told him to. She was pretty, but in a weird way. As he got closer, her intense, blue eyes trap him.

“H-hi,” Simon stutters out, cursing that he didn’t buy a couple more drinks before trying to chat anyone up.

“Hello,” she responds, looking bored yet nervous at the same time. She’s picking at the sleeves of her jumper.

“My name’s Simon.”

“Brie.” Simon nods and glances away, clenching his jaw. He wishes he could be Nathan sometimes. He has a magnetism to him, sometimes he repels people away, but at other times, he can attract anyone he wants to him. They stand in silence for a moment longer before he starts walking away, but she grabs him by the elbow.

“Simon, where’s that boy who came with you?” She asks, eyes drilling him down. Now he knows what everyone means when they talk about the way he stares at people. It’s terrifying.

“Er- I don’t know,” Simon responds, confused. “Why do you ask?”

“He’s in danger,” Brie says in a hushed voice. Simon rips his arm away, immediately suspicious.

“How do you know that?”

“Just trust me.”

“Tell me how,” Simon drills, unsatisfied.

“You won’t believe me!” Brie shoots back, looking frustrated. Simon glances around the room again, searching for Nathan and that girl. He still can’t see them. He looks back at the girl and waits expectantly.

“Fine, I, uh-” She nervously looks around and rubs at her nose. “After the storm. The weird one, y’know?” Simon nods. “I could, just, um, tell if somebody was about to die. It’s like, this aura? I don’t know how accurate it is time wise, but it will happen. I always try to stop it when I see it, but…” She looks scared and sad now, and Simon feels a little guilty for it. Then, immediately, he feels panicked.

“I’ve got to go find Nathan,” is all Simon says before hurrying away. He pushes through the crowd, searching for the curly hair and denim jacket. He searches the loo, as disgusting as it may be, but nothing. No sign of him. As he comes back out of the loo, he notices that Brie was no longer where he left her. All that’s left to look is outside, and Simon pushes out through one of the side doors. The harsh silence outside jars him, cold, autumn weather biting at his face.

There are only a few people outside, a couple smoking and several people snogging. Simon ignores them and begins to search, only stopping when he rounds a dumpster that’s away from everyone else. It’s the girl, the one that Nathan had tried to get with. She’s shaking someone who’s lying on the ground, and, with a jolt, Simon realizes it’s Nathan. He drops to his knees next to her.

“What’s happened? What’s wrong with him?” Simon asks, voice harsh. He knows it probably wasn’t the girl’s fault, it was maybe even his own for letting Nathan go off on his own.

“I don’t know, I don’t know,” the girl says, twitching and crying. Simon realizes she’s high out of her mind, and, as he gets a good look at Nathan, he feels dread pool in his stomach. An overdose. Simon feels for a pulse as she continues her rambling. “We- we were just having fun. I- I have these p-pills and he asked if he could have some. I let him and I- I had other stuff as well. I don’t know what happened.”

“Did he take molly?” Simon grits out, feeling as though bands tighten around his heart. No pulse.

“I don’t know! I don’t know if I have any, but people around us did, I don’t know!” She’s full on sobbing at this point, and Simon nearly yells out of frustration.

“Just go back inside,” Simon nearly whispers, furious at her, at Nathan, at the situation. At himself. She scampers away, leaving Simon alone in an alley with Nathan’s dead body, once again. But this time, Simon’s not certain if he’ll wake up.

Simon does the only thing that he can think to do, and hauls Nathan up in a fireman's carry. Despite their height difference, Nathan has the body mass of a toothpick and he’s easy to carry. Simon makes the trek to the community center, not wanting to take a body back to his parent’s house. He turns invisible, praying that Nathan’s body turned invisible with him. Nobody pays attention to them, regardless of if there’s a potentially floating body or not, so he assumes they're alright.

Once outside the community center, he carefully lays Nathan down and pries open the window he knows wouldn’t be latched. When he first realized he could turn invisible, he had watched everyone just a little bit. This is the window Nathan always leaves unlocked for himself. Simon pulls Nathan through and drags him up to his mattress, laying him down on top of it. He squats down next to him and tries not to cry out of desperation.

Nathan is pale, eyes closed and chest still. Simon checks for his pulse one more time before giving up, leaning back and putting his head in his hands, rubbing at his eyes. Why couldn’t they have just one good night without somebody dying? Simon’s never going clubbing again.

He opens his eyes again to stare at Nathan’s body, refusing to believe that he had taken molly. He wouldn’t have been that stupid. Would he be that stupid? Simon isn’t sure. He thinks back to what Kelly says, about Nathan having a death wish. He’s starting to believe it, too. He also thinks back to Brie, her power. He wonders how hard it must be to know someone’s going to die and not being able to prevent it. He wishes he could show her Nathan, show her that, just this once, the person was going to live. Simon at least tells himself this, because if Nathan stays proper dead, he’s not sure what he’s going to do.

Like at the alley, Simon takes note of how small Nathan looks dead. Pointed, nearly elf like features, accompanied with skinny wrists and ankles. Curly hair lays like a halo around his head. Simon swallows and brushes a stray curl out of his face. Simon realizes, in this moment, that Nathan has no one to look out for him. Sure, Kelly does sometimes, but otherwise, Nathan’s completely alone. He might be a massive dickhead, but nobody deserves to be alone.

So Simon stays with him, crouched next to him until the sun begins to crack over the horizon. As Simon’s studying the sunrise, he hears a gasp from below him. Simon jumps back as Nathan shoots up like a rocket, a wild grin on his face.

“Barry!” Nathan exclaims, trying to push himself up off of the mattress, but he stumbles and nearly pitches completely over. Simon grabs him by the bicep and pulls him back up before he collides with the ground. “Am I a damsel in your distress? Don’t tell me you Sleeping Beauty’d me, I may be hot in death, but that doesn’t mean I can be your whore.”

Simon doesn’t laugh, relief of Nathan waking up combines with anger that he would do this to Simon. Simon releases his arm and backs away.

“I’m going home now, I suggest you get some rest,” is all Simon says before he walks away, feeling Nathan’s eyes on his back. Nathan doesn’t call for him to come back, and Simon doesn’t turn back to look.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have a beta, so if there are spelling or grammar errors I apologize.  
> In this headcanon, Seth doesn't exist. Just for future reference. Neither does future Simon. Also, this format is hard and I feel like I write more for the chapters than I should, but if you're all down to read it, I will keep writing it.
> 
> The power I use is made up, just like last chapter, I just thought it'd be a cheeky thing to add.

3

They don’t talk about the overdose, just like they don’t talk about Jamie and also, now, like they don’t talk about the tattoo. Well, unless you include a couple of jibes Simon makes at Nathan, happy to finally have something over him. They also don’t talk about how Nathan pretty much told Simon his first sexual experience was from a middle aged woman while he was a child. Simon doesn’t tell anybody else about it, either. Just like the overdose, it feels too personal.

Luckily, Kelly gives them something else to talk about as she walks into the locker room, steps light and cheerful.

“What sunshine has gotten up yer arse?” Is the first thing Nathan says to her.

“I’ve met somebody,” Kelly replies with a bright smile.

“Is that why you didn’t go to the club with me the other night? I had to go by myself with Barry! That’s worse than by myself!”

Simon stiffens in annoyance and clears his throat awkwardly. Why he lets Nathan get away with being such a dick, he’s not quite sure.

“Who’s the guy? Do we know him?” Alisha asks, eyes bright with the excitement of new gossip.

“No, I don’t think you’ve met him,” Kelly replies, quickly going over to her. 

Simon sees Nathan lose interest quickly as the conversation drifts away from the topic of Nathan, and he saunters over to Curtis.

“What do you want?” Curtis’s voice is hilariously over-Nathan’s-shit already.

“Can’t a guy just stand next to another guy? This is that toxic masculinity they talk about, can you even look me in the eye without calling me a slur? Can you?” Nathan is squatting and hopping around Curtis as they all begin to leave the locker room, dressed in orange, trying to get Curtis to look at him. Curtis just shakes his head and tries his best to ignore him. Simon understands the feeling.

They line up in front of Shaun, and he looks at them with the usual sneer of disgust.

“Today, the community centre is hosting a party for the elderly. I know how much you all loved that last time,” Shaun sends a pointed look at Nathan, and Nathan salutes him with a smirk. It amuses Simon to think that Shaun remembers Nathan going home with some girl, without Shaun knowing it was an 80 year old woman. “I expect you all to be on good behavior. If I have to write up any reports today, I will not be happy.”

“Whatever,” Alisha says as Shaun walks away, rolling her eyes. Curtis snickers and grabs her by her clothed elbow, leading her to the room the party’s in.

Simon follows and, as he enters the room, decides that party is a loose term. There are some old couples swaying as music plays from a beat up set of speakers. There are a couple sitting on the side, watching and tapping their feet. Some of them are just standing around the punch table, looking as though they have no clue why they’re there.

Simon gets no more than a couple steps towards the dance floor when an old lady is tapping on his shoulder, politely asking to dance. He agrees, despite not wanting to dance and not wanting to be someone’s Nan's eye candy. Regardless, she leads them out to the floor and they dance. He’s over 20 centimeters taller, though, so as they dance he looks around the room over her head.

Nathan is pointing and laughing at him, but that’s nothing that he wasn’t expecting. Alisha is avoiding the dance floor, despite a couple of propositions, opting to text on her phone instead. Simon remembers the last old folks party, where an old man had tried to take Alisha to bed, so he agrees with her reasoning. Curtis and Kelly are sitting with the rest of the old people who aren’t dancing, one of the old ladies is crocheting what looks like a scarf. The rest are giggling and shooting Curtis subtle glances. The men look like they want nothing to do with it.

The song changes and his dance partner mercifully releases him, and he makes a beeline to the punch bowl. Social events like this are horrible, but the people being elderly makes it a bit easier. Simon likes old people, he gets on great with his own grandparents. They seem to like him more than people his own age, anyways.

“You vile boy! What kind of mother raised you?” Simon whips around as he hears this, and of course the anger is directed towards Nathan. The old lady who was crocheting is pointing a crooked finger in his direction. Nathan’s obviously trying his best to look as though he feels bad for whatever he said, but holding in a laugh at the same time.

“Where is your probation worker? I’m having a right chat with him!” She hobbles to her feet and grabs Nathan by the ear, dragging him and her scarf behind her. She must be stronger than she looks, because Nathan sends a pained look Simon’s way as he’s dragged, mouthing 'Help me'. Simon gives him a little wave with a grin.

Kelly looks disgusted and rises to her feet, stomping over to Simon.

“Guess what Nathan just said to ‘er?” Kelly says, telling him before Simon can respond. “He asked her if she took up knitting because her fanny dried up 20 years ago and she had nothing better to do. What the fock?”

Simon fights a laugh. It’s one of the funnier things he’s heard in a while, but he wants Kelly to think that he’s on her side. He coughs instead.

“Er, it definitely sounds like Nathan,” is all Simon says.

“He’s a fockin’ idiot, if Shaun writes us all up because of Nathan, I’m going to lose it.” Kelly huffs and looks around the room, hands on her hips. Simon isn’t sure why she’s telling him all this, maybe she knows that Simon fondly hates Nathan, too. Or maybe a quiet person is just easy to talk to.

“What’s your boyfriend’s name?” Simon asks hurriedly, almost desperate to continue the conversation. He just wants friends, and if Kelly is willing to talk to him, just maybe…

Kelly raises an eyebrow at him, then softens a little bit. “Jacob. And don’t tell nobody this, okay?” Simon nods, excited to be in on something. “I think he has a power.”

Simon feels his eyebrows shoot up in interest. “What kind?”

“I dunno, he was talkin’ to me about the storm, asked if I noticed anythin’ off after,” Kelly responds, looking deep in thought. “I didn’t tell him nothin’ ‘bout us, but I was wonderin’ if you could follow him sometime? See if he’s doin’ anythin’ dodgy before I’m too involved.”

Simon nods, liking the idea of a mission. He’s about to respond with more when the old crochet lady returns without Nathan in tow, looking very proud. Simon wonders if Shaun laid into Nathan for making him do behavior reporting paperwork.

Simon does notice, though, that the scarf she had been making was gone.

The rest of the party goes without anymore hitches, the elderly people seeming satisfied. As they shuffle out, Simon can’t help but notice that Nathan hadn’t come back yet. Shaun walks in as the last of the volunteers leave, and sniffs in disapproval at them.

“Where’s the mouthy one?” Shaun asks, tone bored and uncaring. “Actually, I don’t care. Just leave. I’ve got a date.”

With that, Shaun turns on his heel and walks out. Simon furrows his eyebrows and glances at Kelly, and she’s already looking at him. If Nathan wasn’t with Shaun this whole time…

“Yeah, where is Nathan?” Alisha asks, as if she’s just noticed he’s been gone. To be fair, it’s not like Alisha would ever actively care about Nathan.

“He’s probably fucked off to flirt or somethin’,” Curtis says, sounds just as uncaring as Shaun.

“Maybe-” But Simon cuts himself off before he can even finish his thought, knowing it will sound ridiculous. But, unfortunately for him, the others’ eyes have already all turned to him, so he tries again. “Maybe that old lady did something. The one who was knitting.”

“The old lady?” Alisha scoffs, a mocking smile on her face. “What could she do? Stab him with her knitting needles? Curtis is right, he probably saw someone fit and chased after her.”

With that, Alisha and Curtis leave, giving each other knowing smirks. Simon wonders if they know that the rest of them also know what those smirks mean. Simon makes a note to himself to not open any of the storage spaces, or at least listen before entering.

“Will you look for him Simon?” Kelly asks, approaching him. “I’ve got a date, otherwise I’d help-”

“Yes, I- I can look,” Simon interrupts and Kelly sends him a smile.

“Cheers! Text me when you find him.” And then Kelly leaves, too.

Simon sighs, not particularly wanting to search out Nathan, but he also knows it’s the right thing to do. He starts by looking in the locker room, but there’s no sign of him. The community centre is large, so Simon’s desperately hoping he’s not anywhere too weird or out of the way. He tries calling him, but it only rings a couple of times before going to voicemail. Just as he’s about to give up, just go home like everyone else, he hears an odd hissing.

Finally, with some kind of clue, Simon follows the hissing, rounding a couple corners before he’s standing outside of what looks to be a cleaning cupboard. The hissing is loud, but stops every couple of seconds. A snake, maybe? Simon carefully turns the knob and the hissing stops completely. He takes a deep breath before very slowly opening the door.

“What the-” Simon starts, not being able to take in the bizarre scene very well. Nathan is in the closet, laying at an odd angle, with what looks like holes in his neck and bruising all around it like a necklace. Even weirder, though, is what’s resting on top of Nathan.

It is a snake, head reared back, considering Simon. But, the snake looks to be made out of… red cotton knit? Before Simon can process what’s happening, he turns invisible as the snake strikes at him, stumbling backwards and smacking into the ground, head knocking onto the tile floor. The snake misses him, he’s pretty sure, but is trying to scent him out. Simon has no clue if it can smell him when he’s invisible, if it can smell him at all ever, but doesn’t try to think about it too much.

He scrambles to his feet, trying very hard to think about what he should do, but the fall has slowed his thoughts. The snake slithers towards him and oh, shit, maybe it can smell him. Simon stomps out his foot, but it only feels like he’s stepped on a sweater, not the crunch he was expecting. The head of the snake pops back into place and keeps hissing, backing off a little. What the fuck? Simon’s head aches as he quickly tries to come up with a solution, not feeling confident enough in his speed to outrun the knitted reptile. And he also doesn’t want to leave Nathan alone with it again.

He fumbles around in his pockets and feels it then, his zippo lighter. Old habits die hard, and, in this case, his past arsonist tendencies have come back to haunt him in the perfect way. He quickly pulls it out and shakily uncaps it, lighting it as quickly as he can. The cotton snake has coiled up again, the way it did before it had shot at him. Just as the snake unfurls to leap, Simon throws the lighter. Incredibly, in a bout of good luck, the lit side goes straight into its mouth, and Simon watches as it combusts from the inside.

Simon turns visible and walks towards the pile of ashes that was once the snake, he scoops his lighter back up and caps it. Then, he stumbles back towards the cupboard where Nathan is still laying motionless. He closes the cupboard door behind him and turns the light on, locking the door so that nobody walks in on them. He kneels next to Nathan and fumbles for a pulse and finds nothing. Just as Simon’s preparing himself for another long night of making sure Nathan’s not permanently dead, Nathan suddenly shoots up, as though shocked.

After a moment of looking around wildly, as though searching for the snake, his eyes meet Simon’s.

“We really need to stop meeting like this,” Nathan says, but his voice is hoarse. The bruising around his neck is still there, as well as the fang holes. Maybe the snake’s venom slows his healing process, but he can still come back to life alright. “Are we in a broom cupboard?”

Simon nods, leaning his head back, throbbing pain still shooting at his temple where he had hit it when he fell.

“Did you see that bloody vermin? Fucking massive snake! Made out of yarn! That fucking hag got powers from the storm, told me all this shit ‘bout how everything she crochets comes to life- wait,” Nathan pauses mid ramble, an unusually worried tone taking over his voice. “You’ve cracked your head open. How’d you manage that?”

Simon peeks an eye open at Nathan and fumbles at his head, feeling around his temple. There’s a cut there, but cracked open is an exaggeration. Simon does feel woozy, though, and when he pulls his hands back, it’s covered in blood. He shrugs and closes his eyes again, taking deep breaths, trying to calm his heart rate. He hears some shuffling and then something’s being pressed in his hand, what feels like a wad of dry toilet roll. This must be the toilet supply cupboard.

“Put that on your head, you nonce,” Nathan says after Simon takes a moment to realize what it’s for, but he obeys and presses the wad against his head. “How’d you rid us of that little devil, then? I don’t hear it outside.”

“I, uh, set it on fire,” Simon replies, and Nathan immediately starts snickering.

“Oh, I would’ve loved to see that. Too bad that witch murdered me in cold blood before I could witness that performance.” Simon just grins a little in response. He opens his eyes to look at Nathan, but Nathan's already staring at him, his face sort of scrunched up and lips down turned in that 'deep in thought but not really' look of his.

Only then does he realize how little the cupboard they’re in is, especially with the mop bucket, brooms, and toilet roll pressing against their legs. Simon's knees are nearly against Nathan’s, both sitting in the same position, thighs pressed against their chests, curled up. Nathan looks nearly gaunt in the fluorescent lighting, bruising stark against his collar. Simon can’t imagine he looks much better, what with the blood dripping down his face. But, Simon thinks, there is a nice kind of peace as they both study each other, one of the first quiet moments he’s ever had with Nathan.

Quickly, though, Nathan clears his throat and catapults to his feet. Simon stares up at him, and tries to follow suit, but a little more awkwardly as his pained head disagrees with the movement. Then they’re facing each other, standing, and it’s even more weird. Simon nearly has to tilt his head up to look at him and a weird tension chokes Simon from saying anything. Uncomfortable, Simon fumbles with the door knob behind him, throwing the door open and backing through it.

With the toilet roll nearly soaked with blood but still pressed to his head, he steps back into the hallways, Nathan following quickly.

“I never really thought that I’d come out of the closet with you, but here we are,” Nathan says with his infamous smirk, and Simon just shakes his head. “Alright, queer hater, just remember that nobody is immune to my charms and this massive cock.”

Simon chokes on his own spit and stares at Nathan with wide eyes as he fake thrusts.

“I’m just messing with you, perv. Besides, I know I’m a little too old for your taste,” Nathan quips and gives him a small wave as he walks down the hallway, away from Simon. “Thanks for savin’ me an’ all.”

With that, Simon’s left alone in the hallway with the snake’s ashes, thoughts thoroughly jumbled and head throbbing.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like a lot of fics in this format don't tend to have an overarching plot besides the romance (obviously) so I wanted to change it up and make a headcanon plot to back up the romance. Let me know if you're a fan of the idea :)


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